Angela – How did you deal with the transition from hospital to home?

When you’re at the hospital, the emphasis is on directing your care, at least doing the things you can’t do. Because I was very sick when I was in the hospital—continued episodes of bladder infections and autonomic dysreflexia and dehydration—so, the good news is that I got all those patient education classes that they require you to go to, all the reading you’re supposed to do.  So, the good news was that we had a good base, knowledge, skills to problem solve. And, the second piece was that we also spent a lot of time on the phone calling the outpatient nurse educator at the hospital where I did my rehab was how we made it through those. And, the other good news is that I did have home health aides in the beginning—and I had very mixed feelings about having home health aides—and they were also very, very, very helpful. They had a good knowledge base, they had problem solving skills, and they were very helpful almost like fitting-in like part of the family.